Athletes and The Use of Drugs and Performance Enhancing Supplements Research Paper

Athletes and The Use of Drugs and Performance Enhancing Supplements - Research Paper Example Any substance that boosts performance by bringing about alterations in an individual’s behavior, a perception of pain and/or arousal level ought to be considered as performance-enhancing (Kissinger and Miller, 2009). This paper discusses the use of performance enhancement drugs among athletes and holds the position that anything that enhances athletic performance unnaturally should be banned from seeing that it perverts the integrity of competition. Maximizing an individual’s athletic performance abilities is not only arduous, but also a time-consuming undertaking that calls for among others, proper hydration, good nutrition, sufficient sleep, avoidance of supplements, moderate use of alcohol, and quality coaching and practice. Unluckily, in their efforts to attain peak athletic performance levels, some athletes do not rely on natural resources. They instead perceive a need for something that will facilitate and speed up the natural route to an optimal athletic performance. They, therefore, end up giving in to the urge of using performance-enhancing drugs in order to achieve their goal of emerging the very best athlete that they can possibly be. It is important to point out that nearly always, media reports on some alleged incident of the use of performance enhancement drug in the National Football League, National Hockey League, Major League Baseball, or among Olympic track-and-field high profile participants (Kissinger and Miller, 2009).